The Wisdom Of Crowds

The Wisdom of Crowds is a form of group wisdom, an emerging field of study in the social psychology arena. It examines the aggregation of information in groups that results in decisions that are often better than could have been made by any single member of the group. It's central thesis is that a diverse collection of independently-deciding individuals is likely to make certain types of decisions and predictions better than individual experts.

Case in point:

... a majority of a panel of leading economists surveyed by CNNMoney.com said that the tax cuts (passed during the Bush administration) should be renewed for everyone.

"Extend tax cuts for all income levels and do nothing else," said Sean Snaith, economics professor at the University of Central Florida. "More of the same piecemeal, patchwork policies put forth by this administration will undermine confidence and do little to change the path the economy is on."

Higher taxes are generally believed to be a drag on the economy since it leaves consumers and businesses with less money to spend. Those who argue for extending the tax cuts for the wealthy say that raising those tax rates would hit many small businesses and could put a crimp in hiring.

Not to mention the moral argument that taking money from successful and productive members of society at the point of a gun and then transferring that wealth to those who do little isn' t much different from armed robbery, Even if it's prettied up with nice names and disguised as government 'entitlement' programs, it's still an imposition of the tyranny of the majority on the industrious minority.

In any event, it's probably too much to hope for that the obama administration will heed the Wisdom of Crowds. Instead, we will be treated to the Ignorance of Congress...